Sheila Knaggs (text) and Jennifer Falkner (illustrator), Fairy Beach, Affirm Press, August 2024, 32 pp., RRP $22.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922848147
Fairy Beach grabs readers’ attention from the moment they lay eyes upon it. The front cover, with its spot-varnished illustration complete with iridescent highlights, is eye catching and beautiful. The striking endpapers depicting various marine creatures and plants firmly establishing the setting for this narrative,
This is an enchanting, ethereal book, that invites readers into a magical and unexpected world. Here, on the beach at night, fairies dance by moonlight, jump off piers and ride on the back of seagulls. They swim and build sandcastles and surf on cuttlefish boards.
The language is written in rhyming couplets and is quite succinct, yet there is a richness too, with lovely phrases such as the coast does a curtsy, the sea wildly waves.
The illustrations are a standout feature. They are detailed and vibrant, seamlessly shifting between vignettes, full pages and double spreads. There is much to explore and discuss on each page.
Together, Sheila Knaggs and Jennifer Falkner have created a surprising new habitat for fairies, who seem to have predominantly inhabited woods and gardens prior to this revelation. This delightful picture book adds a whole new dimension to a visit to the beach. It is an invitation for children to observe this familiar location with a renewed sense of wonder, looking for evidence of beach fairies. Hopefully, they may find a one curled up inside a shell!
Reviewed by Bronwyn Joseph
Recommended for children up to 8
